While trying my best to be objective heading into the season, my line of thinking was that Penn State would take a minor step back in 2018 before being in position to be a perennial playoff contender moving forward. There were times that I told myself the inexperienced but talented defense would come out firing, that the offense wouldn’t miss DaeSean Hamilton and Mike Gesicki in the passing game, and that a favorable home schedule with a senior quarterback could mean an unexpected national championship run.
But deep down I knew that was unlikely.